Finally, A Multifunction Robot That's (Kind Of) Affordable

What's better than a $400,000 robot that can perform a multitude of helpful tasks? A robot that can perform the same helpful tasks, but for much less money.

Unbounded Robotics has unveiled a multifunction robot called the UBR-1 that will sell for $35,000. Unbounded Robotics is comprised of ex-Willow Garage employees who helped to build the much more expensive PR2 robot. While the UBR-1 is similar to PR2, it features one arm instead of two, and uses a 3-D PrimeSense camera as a commodity sensor instead of PR2's $5,000 worth of built-in sensors.

Unbounded Robotics' new robot will be able to pick items up, move around freely while guided by sensors, and will be customizable (you can mount a variety of objects on the actual robot). UBR-1 could essentially be used industrially but also is being marketed to senior citizens as an in-home helper.